Thrawn of Starfleet
by Shockeye7665
Summary: In 2364, Mitth'raw'nuruodo, known simply as Thrawn, is discovered by Starfleet, which leads to him entering Starfleet Academy, joining Starfleet and climbing through the ranks, via his tactical and strategic brilliance, his cunning and his unorthodox methods. [ON HIATUS]
1. TZ911951

**Disclaimer: Star Wars and Star Trek does not belong to me. They belong to their respective owners, namely Disney and Paramount.  
**

* * *

 _Captain's quarters, Miranda-class Starship USS Strikefast, on approach to TZ911951, Lombard system, near the Federation-Klingon border, Alpha Quadrant, Milky Way Galaxy_.  
 _2364_.

Captain Svetlana Vladanka Kovaleva sighed as she sat down on the chair behind her desk in her quarters, letting the comfort of the leather relax her as she eased into the seat, before she turned her chair to face the computer terminal, Captain Kovaleva soon began typing on the interface, entering her Captain's log.

" _Captain's Log, Stardate 41203.7: After picking up a distress signal from TZ911951, we diverted from our assignment, monitoring solar flares in the Tohrlen system, and are now on approach to the planet, where we will assess the situation, once we will arrive_ ".

Ending the log, Captain Kovaleva took a moment to pause, before she issued a command to the Replicator in her quarters, "Soup, Borscht, Hot".

And within two minutes, the soup was ready, and Svetlana got up from the chair, getting the bowl of Borscht, as well as a spoon that she kept in her quarters along with other pieces of cutlery for such occasions, whenever she wanted something to eat in her quarters.

Eating through the soup, she just finished it off, when her combadge pinged, indicating that someone wanted to speak to her.

Taping it once, Svetlana spoke, "Yes?"

The voice speaking to her, belonged to Tileu, her Deltan First Officer, " _Captain, we are now in orbit over TZ911951_ ".

"On my way".

* * *

After exiting the turbolift, Svetlana headed for the Captain's chair, but as she did so, she issued the following orders.

"Initiate scans of TZ911951, and try to pick up the source of the distress signal".

With this order given out, the Operations Officer (and Third Officer), Lieutenant Fernando Sanchez, started his scans of the planet below, and the information came to him, after a short moment.

"Well, the scanner indicates no signs of life on the planet. But I am detecting all sorts of debris across the planet".  
"What sort of debris?"  
"Crashed ships, Captain".  
"Of what kind?"  
"All sorts, including human ships of various kinds, as well as Vulcan, Tellarite, Andorian, Ferengi, Klingon, even Romulan".

But then, Sanchez continued scanning and picked up something,  
"Hold on, Captain, I'm picking up a settlement of some sort".

Tileu and Svetlana exchanged a look before the Deltan burst out with, "A settlement? But that's impossible".  
TZ911951 was a planet that was known to have no indigenous life forms of any kind, sentient or otherwise. So Tileu's reaction was justified.

Despite the Captain and the First Officer's puzzlement, Sanchez continued on with his work as he scanned the planet, until suddenly came an unexpected development.  
"Well, the scanners are indicating a settlement down there, and, also evidence of a power generator linked to the settlement".  
"A power generator, you say?"  
"Yes Captain".  
"What sort of power generator".  
"Not of any official make, that's for certain. It looks to be all mashed up from plasma conduits, power cells, fuel cells, and power packs, for that matter. Must be all salvaged from the crashed ships".

Svetlana nodded, "Looks that way", before asking, "Lieutenant, can you scan for any life signs?"

Sanchez, puzzled, complied anyway, scanning the settlement and the area surrounding it, only for him to shake his head in the negative, "I'm afraid not, Captain. The scanners cannot penetrate the material of that settlement. They must be well designed, as they seem to be salvaged from all those wrecked ships, and..."

At this news, Captain Kovalena tuned out the Operations Officer, as she pondered on a certain choice of action that she was about to take, and weighed on the pros and cons, before coming to the decision.  
"Tileu".  
Immediately, the First Officer perked up, "Yes, Captain?"  
"I'm sending down an Away Team to check out the settlement. Tileu, you're in charge. Take Vy'cheq, Kumus and 4 security officers with you down to the surface".

The Deltan paused only for a slight moment, opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, before nodding, "Understood Captain".

* * *

In the small transporter room, on the pad, were seven members of the Away Team, wearing the standard white Starfleet environmental suits, as scans had indicated that TZ911951's atmosphere, while breathable for most species, actually contained foreign microbes of an unknown kind with as-of-yet unknown effects.  
Hence, Tileu took the precaution of ordering the Away Team to wear environmental suits.

Looking upon her away team, Tileu checked them over.

Lieutenant Commander Vy'cheq, the Andorian Second officer and Science Officer, was examining the Tricorder, as well as his own phaser, while Lieutenant Kumus, the Efrosian Security Chief, was checking the suits of Lieutenant Girvon Brodd, a Bolian Security officer, and three human security officers, Lieutenant Heinz Oppert, Ensign Matthías Stefansson and Ensign Jang Hyun-tae.

Turning to the transporter operator, Tileu asked, "You have the coordinates?"  
The Ensign behind the console nodded, "All set Commander".

Nodding, Tileu then paused a moment, as she checked that the Away Team was ready to go.

Once she was satisfied, she then said,  
"Commander Tileu to Strikefast. Seven to beam down".

* * *

 **Well, this was an idea that came floating around my head, ever since I picked up the new Thrawn novel by Timothy Zahn (which is a very great read. I totally recommend it!).**

 **The idea was, instead of the Imperial Navy, what if Thrawn came into the service of Starfleet?  
However, I know that the challenge of doing such a fic is very high, as Thrawn is not exactly the very ideal of a Starfleet commander, but the idea just would not go away, and I decided to give it a go anyway.  
**

 **And I'm also very excited to getting around to some new characters that I'm going to be introducing later in the story.  
** **I don't want to reveal too much, only that since Thrawn is like Sherlock, this Thrawn in my story will have a character that fills the role of Watson (Just as Thrawn had Gilad Pellaeon in the Thrawn trilogy, and Eli Vanto in the Thrawn novel), as well as an archnemesis that fills the role of Moriarty (which oddly enough, both the Thrawn Legends stories and the Thrawn novel hadn't really such compelling characters that fill such a role, even though the Thrawn novel did seem to get close enough with Nightswan).**

 **Don't forget to leave a review whenever you can, and see you next time!**

 **Update (13/8/17): Changed the snow storm covering the Strikefast scanners, as a storm should not be able to block Federation sensors (my mistake!), to scanners not being able to pick up any life forms due to the settlement being made from materials from the crashed ships.**  
 **Special thanks to RedShirt047 for pointing this out!**


	2. Investigation and the First Encounter

**Disclaimer: Star Wars and Star Trek does not belong to me. They belong to their respective owners, namely Disney and Paramount.**

* * *

 _TZ911951, Lombard System, near the Federation-Klingon border, Alpha Quadrant, Milky Way_.  
 _2364_.

Some distance away from the settlement, and from the debris of crashed ships, seven figures materialised.

Once the materialisation was done, everyone got their phasers out and aimed them around at the immediate area, before Tileu then said, "Alright, let's head out to the settlement. In the meantime, keep an eye out and be on your guard".

Kumus nodded and had Brodd, Oppert, Stefansson and Hyun-tae take defensive formations around Tileu, and Vy'cheq, who was scanning the immediate area, and the environment, with a tricorder.

As they moved slowly towards the settlement, the First Officer asked the Second Officer/Science Officer, "Vy'cheq, what do you have?"

The Andorian held up a hand for silence as he continued scanning the ground, the sky and the rest of the area with the tricorder.  
He continued on with this for a good long while, before he indicated that they could continue.

As they headed onwards, Vy'cheq soon gave his analysis.

"My scans, indicate that the atmosphere of this planet is suitable for humanoid life-forms, if it weren't for the microbes. These microbes, I've analysed, if inhaled, can cause symptoms of muscle atrophy, then paralysis and internal organ failure".  
"So we must make sure we do not get a tear in our environmental suits".  
"Exactly".  
Oppert asked, "If anyone wanted to make this planet habitable, couldn't they just remove the microbes?"  
Vy'cheq shook his head, "Impossible. If anyone removes those microbes, it could cause ecological damage".

Then, Stefansson offered his two cents, saying "Besides, anyone could always put domed cities here, if anyone wanted to settle down here".

The conversation would have continued, until they reached the settlement.

Tileu looked it over, a rectangular structure that was around 18 feet high, 27 feet wide and 39 feet long, as Lieutenant Brodd immediately had the security officers take a defensive formation, outside a single metal door that looked heavy.

Then, Tileu and Vy'cheq scanned the exterior of the settlement.  
The Andorian hummed to himself as he held his tricorder to the settlement, "Hmmmm...", before saying something that Tileu picked up, "Most curious".

The First Officer asked the Science Officer, "Something of interest?"

A pause, and then, "I believe so. Come and take a closer look at what I found".  
Handing over his tricorder, Tileu analysed the readings, and saw that the settlement was made of quite varying materials, but they all had something in common.  
"Duranium, Magnesite, Polyduranide and Tritanium? You are certain?"  
"Absolutely certain. And I am certain that they come from the crashed ships".  
"Whoever constructed this settlement, must have access to some incredibly powerful cutting technology".

But as Tileu took a moment to contemplate this information, Hyun-tae caught her attention, "Commander, I've found the power generators, and the source of the distress signal".  
At this, Tileu went over to have a look and saw very large power cables connected to the settlement, leading to a rectangular container, which was evidently giving off a lot of power.

Taking readings, they saw that it was comprised of components from a Federation starship engineering room, with the main power source originating from two warp cores, one from a Klingon ship, and another from a Romulan ship.

Then they saw a hastily rigged communications rig, near the container, which was the source of the distress signal.

Vy'cheq, asked Tileu if they should take it apart to have a closer look at how it worked, but the First Officer shook her head, as she went over to the settlement and prepared to go inside.  
"No, we'll do that later. Let's get inside the settlement, see what we can uncover".

But before they could get the doors open and get inside, Stefansson, who was standing guard, seemed to be very focused on the forests, eyes darting around, looking for something.  
"What's the matter, Ensign? You seem very interested in those woods".

Glancing at the first Officer, Stefansson then continued to look out towards the woods for a few minutes, before sighing and saying, "I don't know. It's just, that, I get the feeling something's watching us. Or..."  
"Someone?"  
"Yeah..."

* * *

After getting the door open (which took some time to do considering that it had an improvised lock and handle that secured it), Tileu, Vy'cheq and Brodd entered the settlement, and saw for themselves the inside.

It was comprised of one singular room, with one bed, and around four cupboards, with the only source of light within the settlement being from a set of four lights.

Taking a reading with the tricorder, they found that the inside of the settlement was not safe for them to breath, as it was still populated with the microbes of TZ911951.

Immediately, Tileu and Vy'cheq set to work, whilst Brodd had Oppert, Stefansson and Hyun-tae all standing guard outside the settlement, looking out for any sign of the settlement's inhabitants returning to the settlement.  
Brodd meanwhile, had been asked by Tileu to help her and Vy'cheq in finding anything interesting to analyse.

Brodd had been checking out the cupboards, when he found a rather large weapon-like object that took up the entire bottom drawer of the one cupboard furthest from the bed.  
Puzzled, the Bolian raised an eyebrow as he looked upon it, "What sort of device is this?"  
Vy'cheq, who had been checking the cupboard closest to the bed, came over to take a look for himself, as Brodd took it out for them all to look at, "Well, it's clearly made from Federation, Klingon and Romulan ship components. The majority of it seems to be made from components from Federation phaser emitters, with power coils from Klingon disruptor cannons, modulators from Federation phase cannons and the power source from Romulan disruptor banks, it also has components from Federation Type-2 phasers and Type-3 phasers from the 2280s".  
Brodd, who was in disbelief at what he was hearing, then took a closer look at the object.

After a few moments, he saw the proof before him, and was quite complexed at the implications that this brought, "All these parts shouldn't even be compatible! Are you certain that this actually works?"  
Vy'cheq did some scans with his tricorder and saw the readings, "Yes, there's evidence of recent use of this device. So whoever's built it, made it to use it. I'm of the belief that this is what our mysterious occupant uses to cut through the crashed starships".  
Tileu said in response, "Well, whoever built this, clearly has an aptitude for adaptation to new technology".  
Brodd asked the obvious question, "Our mysterious occupant of this settlement, you mean?"

But before they could go on further, Tileu received a call,  
" _Commander, this is Lieutenant Oppert. Do you read me, over?!_ "  
Tapping her badge, she responded, "Lieutenant, this is Commander Tileu. What is the matter?"  
" _Stefansson's gone!_ ".

Brodd immediately took over, "What do you mean Ensign Stefansson's gone?"  
" _Sir, he thought he could see movement in the nearby woods, and went out to investigate. I tried to stop him, but he rushed out ahead of me, into the woods, and hasn't come back since!_ "  
"Have you tried calling him on the communicator?"  
" _Tried, there's no response, sir! Sir, we need to find him!_ "  
"Alright, calm down, Lieutenant. Where are you now?"  
" _With Hyun-tae. Keeping watch on the forest_ ".  
"Alright, stick close with him. Do not go off on your own. Wait until we're finished here, and then we'll go and look for Stefansson. Understood?".

After ending the call, Tileu called the next plan of action.  
"Right, let's put everything back and then we'll head out to Oppert and Hyun-tae".

* * *

After finishing up in the settlement, they then met with Oppert and Hyun-tae, who were 10 meters outside of the edge of the forest, holding their phasers at the ready, and nervously looking over their shoulders from time to time.

Brodd asked Oppert, "Any sign of Stefansson?"  
A rapid shake of the head and, "No sir".

Then, everyone gathered around, and awaited a plan of action.

Tileu then decided to contact the Strikefast, but when she pressed her badge to contact Captain Kovalena, she found no answer on the other side.  
Repeated attempts wielded no results, and Tileu came to the conclusion that something on this planet was jamming their comms, or that they were being jammed.  
The Deltan decided to test her theory, when she arranged for Vy'cheq to see if he could use his combadge to contact her.

Even though the Andorian Science Officer was skeptical, Tileu persuaded him to try out her theory, and had Brodd do the same.

When they tapped their combadges, Vy'cheq trying his out first, then Brodd following suite, Tileu then came to the conclusion that this communications failure was not due to the planet, but presumably due to being jammed by the mysterious inhabitants of the settlement.

"Right, just as I thought. We're being jammed".

But before anyone could speak in response to that, all a sudden, came an energy bolt that flew out of the forest straight towards them.

They all dived down to the ground, as the energy bolt hit the ground and exploded.

Getting up, the Away Team readied their phasers towards the forest.

Then immediately, more energy bolts started firing out of the forest, a lot more, from different positions, and thus everyone now had to fall back and take cover behind the settlement.

However, as they all ran for dear life, Hyun-tae was struck by one of the energy bolts and he fell face first into the ground.  
"Man down! Man down!"

Brodd and Oppert looked at Tileu, who nodded at them, saying "Go. Me and Vy'cheq will cover you".  
And they did, firing their phasers towards the forest.  
Brodd and Oppert reached Hyun-tae and carried him out of sight, into cover behind the settlement.

Then, when they got behind cover, Vy'cheq ran a tricorder over the Ensign.  
Tileu asked for his status expecting him to be dead, "What is Ensign Hyun-tae's status, Vy'cheq?"  
The Andorian rose an eyebrow at the readings that was being given off by the tricorder, and the pause was so long that Tileu had to forcefully ask again for the Science Officer's answer.  
Vy'cheq exchanged a glance at the First Officer before saying, "He's stunned actually, but he'll be alright".

Puzzled looks were exchanged throughout the entire group at this announcement, and Brodd asked in disbelief, "Stunned?"  
"Yes, Lieutenant. Apparently that bolt was a stun bolt. About the equivalent of a Level One stun setting. He should wake in around 5 minutes, give or take".

Then suddenly, the energy bolt fire seized.

Everyone looked at each other at this, and Oppert was the first to speak, "The energy bolts, they've stopped...", before deciding to take a peak out towards the forest.

A few tense moments, as Oppert continued to peak out, despite Brodd warning him to get back into cover.

Then, an energy bolt fired out and struck Oppert.

Dragging the fallen Ensign, Vy'cheq checked his status and found that he was stunned as well.

At this, Tileu elected to go out and confront their attackers before they decided to actually start using kill shots.  
So, she ordered that the Away Team stay out of sight of the forest, all while waiting for Hyun-tae and Oppert to awaken from their stunned condition.

* * *

Then, when Hyun-tae and Oppert awakened into a disorientated state, they were checked over by Vy'cheq, who concluded that their disorientation should pass momentarily.

Once Hyun-tae and Oppert were fit for duty, she formulated a plan for the Away Team to head out and confront their attackers.

Whilst half of the Away Team would suppress the supposed location of the attacker, the other half would rush towards the forest and confront the attackers.

However, it was not so simple, as when one energy bolt was fired from the forest, Brodd opened fire with his phaser at the supposed location at where it came from, only for Tileu to notice that the next energy bolt was coming from a different location entirely.  
Suspicions started to grow in her head, as to the true number of the attackers, and as Vy'cheq and herself tried the same as Brodd, she found her suspicions confirmed.

They were facing one single attacker.

Her colleagues were a bit skeptical at this, believing that the amount of blaster bolt fire that they came under, cannot have come from one single individual.

But as they rushed through the forest, and eventually got to what seemed to be a set of dugouts, deep within the forest, Tileu's suspicions were further confirmed when they saw that the dugouts were all occupied by a rigged up energy weapon (that seemed to work via remote control, Tileu observed).

* * *

"So it was true then. We've been under attack from a single attacker all this time".

Tileu nodded her head at Vy'cheq's statement, "Yes. Whoever the attacker is, he or she or it, has salvaged Federation phasers, Klingon, Romulan and Ferengi energy weapons into a set of remote controlled emplaced energy weapons. They were used initially to get us into cover, and the attacker's been slipping in between the emplacements, taking a few shots at us".

But before anyone else could speak after Tileu's analysis, Oppert announced, "We have contact! I repeat, we have contact!"

Exchanging glances, Tileu, Vy'cheq and Brodd then headed out, with Oppert and Hyun-tae readying their phasers.

Taking cover by nearby trees, they then saw, coming towards them, their lone attacker, carrying the unconscious body of Ensign Stefansson along his shoulder.

* * *

 **And thus, next chapter, we get Thrawn revealed!**

 **Apologies for the long delay, everyone. But it was very tricky to figure out this chapter.  
** **Hopefully, the next chapter will be released much sooner, but I make no promises. I do want to get the whole thing right, after all.**

 **Anyways, don't forget to leave a review whenever you can, and see you next time!**


	3. First Contact

**Disclaimer: Star Wars and Star Trek does not belong to me. They belong to their respective owners, namely Disney and Paramount.**

* * *

 _TZ911951, Lombard System, near the Federation-Klingon border, Alpha Quadrant, Milky Way_.  
 _2364_.

Their lone attacker, still carrying the unconscious body of Stefansson, was dressed in a hooded cloak over what seemed to be a mixture of clothing made from animal skin and furs, wearing thick black gloves and boots, and wearing a helmet that presumably allowed him to breath safely whilst on the planet, and was armed with a very long rifle like object, that like the cutter, seemed to be made of different parts, Federation, Klingon and Romulan, believe it or not.

Carefully putting down Stefansson, the attacker gave the Away Team a look that seemed like to Tileu, that he (or she, for even though it looked like a male) was analysing their every move.

Then the attacker did something unexpected.  
It threw his rifle to one side, and stepped four paces backwards.

 _Interesting_ , thought Tileu, as a pause fell upon the attacker and the Away Team.  
The Deltan First Officer then reckoned that their attacker, did not mean any more harm to them, and wished to speak to them.  
But the attacker made no move or no indication that he would speak first, so Tileu decided to step up to the plate and said to the others in the away team, "Looks like he's interested in speaking to us now".

Brodd was skeptical, "Are you certain, Commander? At one point, he was shooting at us".

The Deltan nodded and said, "Yes. He's thrown his weapon out of reach, and stepped back. It might mean, he wants to initiate dialogue with us now. Besides, he was just shooting stun bolts at us".  
Vy'cheq threw his two cents to this, trying to provide a seemingly rational explanation, "He could be up to something, making us let our guard down or something like that".

Tileu conceded to the Andorian Science Officer's caution, but said, "Regardless, I think my initution says that he wishes to speak with us. Anyways, I wish to initiate dialogue with him".

The others were skeptical, but knew that they could not counter the decision of the first officer in front of the attacker, so Vy'cheq simply said, "Be careful, Tileu".

The Deltan wordlessly stepped forward, and spoke to the attacker, in a clear but slow voice, "My name is Tileu. I am a Commander of Starfleet, from the United Federation of Planets, based on board the Starship Strikefast. We are here on this planet, investigating a distress signal that was emitted from this planet. Can you understand me?"

And from then on, the First Contact truly began.

* * *

 _Ready Room, USS Strikefast, in orbit over TZ911951, Lombard System, near the Federation-Klingon border, Alpha Quadrant, Milky Way_.  
 _2364_.

"Computer, begin log".

At Captain Svetlana Vladanka Kovalena's command, the computer began recording a new entry in the Captain's Log.

"Captain's Log, supplemental. The away team sent down to TZ911951 has been out of contact for about exactly 1 hour and 49 minutes, and we have been unable to get past the jamming that came sometime ago. The uncertainty of the status of the away team leaves me with a lot of anxiety, and I do not like it. However, I can only wait and hope for news".

Finishing the log, the Captain then found herself a chair in the ready room, to slump down in as she let the silence in the ready room fester on her mind, as she awaited for any news.

Then 4 minutes later, Svetlana's combadge pinged and she tapped it.  
"Yes?"  
Lieutenant Fernando Sanchez spoke, " _Captain, we have regained communication with the away team. They are requesting to speak with you_ ".

But Kovalena was already way ahead of Sanchez, and headed to the bridge, before the Operations Officer had finished speaking.

And once she was within the bridge, the Captain got into contact with Commander Tileu and spoke to her, "Tileu! What's going on down there? We've been trying to reach you for hours, but have been unable to break the jamming that was emitted a while ago".

However, there was a brief pause before Tileu said ( _not answering the Captain's question, a first for Tileu_ , the Captain remarked),  
" _Captain Kovalena, this is Commander Tileu. We have made contact with the mysterious occupant of the settlement, and he wishes to speak with you directly. We'll be heading back to the Strikefast. Requesting a shuttlecraft to our position, and an additional security team at the hangar, in addition to a decontamination team for screening_ ".

Svetlana was a bit confused at Tileu's behaviour and actions, and said, "Commander, this is a bit of an unusual request. You are aware of the Prime Directive..."

However, the Captain was interrupted ( _another first for Tileu_ , Svetlana thought).  
" _It's okay, Captain. He's not a native. And he's quite familiar with Federation, Klingon and Romulan technology. Trust me, you'll want to speak with him directly if you'll want answers_ ".

The Captain sighed, and relented. "Very well, Tileu. An shuttle will be dispatched shortly. But we will be speaking about this in private, afterwards. Captain Kovalena out".

* * *

 _Brig, USS Strikefast, in orbit over TZ911951, Lombard System, near the Federation-Klingon border, Alpha Quadrant, Milky Way_.  
 _2364_.

A shuttlecraft had been sent, picking up and then, a decontamination team had been sent, to screen them for any foreign microbes that could endanger the _Strikefast_ , in addition to a additional security team lead by Lieutenant Henrik Magnussen, the Tactical Officer of the _Strikefast_.

Then, Commander Tileu had brought their 'visitor', under guard from numerous security officers, straight to the brig where he was directed to sit down in.

As the 'visitor' to the Strikefast, went to a bench within the brig and sat himself down as the brig's energy field was switched on, many noticed that even though he had been disarmed of his weaponry and technology (apart from the breathing apparatus and the helmet itself), he didn't look at all worried or concerned.  
In fact, he displayed the same calm, collected demeanour in his body language, just as he did whilst on TZ911951, while he was sitting down on the bench in the brig, gloved hands resting on his knees, helmet looking straight ahead with only very slight movements all around to indicate that he was looking around, with still no clue as to what this individual's actual species actually was.

Then Captain Kovalena exited the recently arrived lift, and took in the whole scene, of the numerous security officers surrounding one brig.

Joining Tileu, the Captain then saw the 'visitor' and looked at him all over, before the individual inclined his helmet to look at the Captain.

Tileu observed as the Captain, who she knew over the years, as one human who was not easily intimidated, was now starting to feel a bit uneasy at the 'visitor', who was seemingly analysing the Captain from beyond the helmet that did not show his own eyes.

After a while, Kovalena turned to Tileu and asked for details on what happened down on TZ911951.  
The First Officer complied and told the story at how they found the settlement, the tech within it and then, the visitor's attack on Tileu and her away team, then his 'surrender' and the initial first contact between him and the away team.

Captain Kovalena nodded her head, saying, "We'll continue on with your report in detail later, Commander. Right now, let's deal with our guest".

Then, approaching the energy field, Captain Kovalena decided to speak with the 'visitor'.

Even though Tileu and the 'visitor' had been able to talk, Kovalena wanted to know for herself, so she started off with, "Can you understand me?"

Immediately, the 'visitor' said simply, in quite an electronically distorted voice (possibly originating from the helmet) to her ears, "Yes, I can".

A pause from Kovalena, before she said, "My First Officer said that you wished to speak with me".  
"Yes, I did".  
"Why?"

The 'visitor', did not answer the question, but tilted his head.  
Before Kovalena could say anything more, the 'visitor' asked, "Why what?"

The Captain replied to the question, "Why me, specifically?"

The 'visitor' paused, leaving a very awkward silence fester between him and the Captain, and Kovalena was finding it very hard to gauge on reading him, so she asked, "Can you remove your helmet? I feel very uneasy talking with someone who hides behind a mask', before a thought came across her mind that he must require the helmet to breath and thus, he is unable to, 'Unless you breath a different atmosphere..."  
"Your normal atmosphere will suffice. Rest assured, I breath the same atmosphere as you".

Then the 'visitor' pulled the hood down with his gloved hands, showing the full detail of the helmet, which had a faceplate covering the entire face, a headpiece that almost resembled a bascinet (but was much more stubby and boxy) and a neck protector that connected to the helmet.

Tugging at his thick black gloves by the fingers, the Captain soon caught a look at blue wrists, before the gloves came off to reveal blue hands.

And before anyone could say anything, he took one of his hands to one of the many pipes connecting his helmet to a neck device and disconnected it. Everyone jumped as loud hisses were expelled from the now-loose pipes.  
One by one, pipes were released, and then after the final one was disconnected, they could hear a click.

When the visitor removed his helmet, she at first thought that they were dealing with an Andorian.  
But apart from the blue skin (like his hands, his entire body was almost certainly blue), that was where the similarities ended and it was clear that this was a species that they (nor the rest of Starfleet) had not seen before.

Taking a close look at his face, Captain Kovalena could see that he possessed a very sharp and angular face, in addition to shimmering blue-black hair that was neatly cropped and proper, not one hair out of place despite being in a helmet.

But one thing definitely caught the attention of everyone present.

Glowing red eyes, with pupils that revealed a calm, collected focus, just like his entire demeanour.

* * *

Far from giving her a better gauge on reading their visitor, Captain Kovalena was now a bit unnerved at those eyes, who were now piercing her with a focus that just seem to look right through her.

So, she then asked the 'visitor', "Who are you?"

A pause, before their 'visitor' responded in quite an cultured, and calm, accent, which incidentally sounded like the voice coming from his helmet (without the electronic distortion), "My name, is Mitth'raw'nuruodo".

After seeing her colleagues attempting to pronounce the name, Kovalena tried to memorise how it was spoken and was about to give her own go, when the 'visitor' spoke again.  
"There, is, however, another name that I am known as. A much simpler name, perhaps, for your benefit".

At this, Kovalena waited for him to speak and then, he spoke,

"You may simply call me, Thrawn".

* * *

 **Oh my gosh! Man, this was such a hard chapter to put down into writing. I had initially planned for the chapter to be set on Tileu and Thrawn talking on the surface of TZ911951, but I got stuck and instead, I chose for Thrawn to be taken to the Strikefast and meet the Captain personally.**  
 **I surely do hope I got this right!**

 **Afterwards, Starfleet continues it's first contact with Thrawn, and hopefully, there'll be something about Thrawn going to join Starfleet.**

 **By the way, is everyone excited for the sequel to Thrawn, the Thrawn: Alliances book that was announced at NYCC? I am, most certainly!**

 **Anyways, don't forget to leave a review whenever you can, and see you next time!**


	4. Interrogation and Pulling Strings

**Disclaimer: Star Wars and Star Trek does not belong to me. They belong to their respective owners, namely Disney and Paramount.**

* * *

 _Bridge, Miranda-class Starship USS Strikefast, leaving TZ911951, Lombard System, near the Federation-Klingon border, Alpha Quadrant, Milky Way_.  
 _2364_.

" _First Officer's Log, supplemental. T_ _he Strikefast is now leaving TZ911951, with our mysterious guest, known as Thrawn, down in the brig. And we are inbound for Starbase 77, in the Spielberg system, at Warp 4. Captain Kovalena is continuing the interrogation, or in her words, the questioning of Thrawn._ _Evidently, they have a lot to talk about, given that she has not finished_ ".

Commander Tileu, the First Officer of the _USS Strikefast_ , was sitting down in the Captain's chair, taking a slight bit of comfort that she, as well as the members of her away team, were now safe and sound on board their starship.

Tileu was quite pleased that their adventure on TZ911951 was now over, only to frown at the reminder that 'Thrawn' was still onboard the _Strikefast_ , being interrogated by the Captain.  
She had no idea what Captain Kovalena was thinking, keeping their mysterious guest in the brig and continuing to interrogate him.

But Tileu did not have the time to ponder on it for long as the turbolift doors opened, and Captain Kovalena exited, heading straight for the Captain's chair.

Tileu knew it was time for her to take the First Officer's position, and return the chair to Kovalena, so she announced, "Captain on the bridge", before getting off the seat.  
Kovalena nodded graciously to her First Officer, before sitting down and asking, "Status report?"  
"We are currently at Warp 4. Inbound for Starbase 77. We'll be there in 3 minutes".  
"Good, good".

And the Captain asked the other officers on the bridge on various updates, soon getting satisfactory answers, before silence followed afterwards and everyone continued on with their duties as normal.

Then Tileu asked, "So, what did you learn about, erm, from your interrogation of Thrawn, Captain?"  
Inclining her head over to her First Officer, Captain Kovalena took a moment to best figure out her answer to Tileu's question, before she finally answered "Well, I definitely learnt a lot of things about Thrawn. All about how he managed to rig up all his tech, how he learned to speak our language and how he managed to take on a Starfleet Away Team. But most importantly, I know why he did all of it".

Tileu raised an eyebrow at all this, and asked curiously, "Why he attacked me and the away team, Captain?"  
"Yes Tileu. Apparently, it was an elaborate test that Thrawn set up..."

* * *

At his desk, within his office on Starbase 77, Lieutenant Commander Manfred Berger, was currently analysing the current reports on the mysterious destruction of the Federation colony Frederich Beta IV, currently in the Neutral Zone, when his combadge pinged him.

"Berger here".  
The voice on the other end was from the commander of Starbase 77, Commodore Howard Erikson, " _Commander, come to my office immediately_ ".  
A pause and, "I'm on my way", before Berger got up and left for the Commodore's office, which was some floors above his own office, meaning quite a long trip for him to make.

First, after exiting his own office, Berger headed through around 4 corridors, before going through a sliding door, into a corridor that was followed by another, before he reached the elevator he was looking for.  
Entering it, he imputed his destination to the elevator by his voice, "Observation Floor".

As soon as he was finished, the elevator then shut the doors, and then shot upwards towards the Observation Floor, which had an enormous window that could see straight out to the space full of far away stars.  
Berger did not stay in the elevator long, as he reached the Observation Floor, left the elevator and headed straight for another one which would take him to the Commodore's office, he then saw a Miranda-class Starship docking at the Starbase, through an observation window.

Taking a look at the name printed on it's Saucer section, he saw that it was the _USS Strikefast_ , captained by Captain Svetlana Kovalena.

Entering the Commodore's officer, Berger then found Erikson sitting down behind his desk, and went straight to his desk.

"Commodore Erikson, you wanted to see me?"  
Looking up from his personal computer, the blonde haired, brown eyed 5"7' tall Commodore from Rio de Janeiro, smiled as he indicated for the Lieutenant Commander to sit down, "Ah, yes, I did. Come, sit down, Commander. We've a lot to talk about".

Berger then took a seat that Erikson indicated to, and looked around before asking, "Are we waiting for someone?"  
"Yes. Captain Svetlana Kovalena should be joining us any minute now. She's made quite a unique discovery".  
Raising his eyebrows, Berger was now curious, and asked, "What kind of discovery?"

The Commodore frowned and said, "Well, she wouldn't give me much details, for apparently she wanted to tell me in person, but she's found a member of an alien species we've not seen before, on the planet of TZ911951".  
"Out in the Lombard system?"  
"Yes".

A chime and Erikson knew who it was, so he beckoned the person on the other side to enter.

And through the door, was Captain Svetlana Vladanka Kovalena. The Russian-descended Jovian from Mars, standing rigidly even as she approached Commodore Erikson and Lieutenant Commander Berger and stood in front of the desk, before Erikson smiled at her and said, "Ah, Captain Kovalena. Please, come in, sit down".

However, Kovalena simply said, "No, thank you, Commodore, I'll stand".

A pause, before the Commodore relented, and got straight to business, asking, "Well, you said you and the Strikefast made a unique discovery, in the form of a member of an unknown alien species".  
The Captain nodded, "Yes. An male humanoid, from an alien race known as the Chiss".  
"Not native to TZ911951?"  
"Not in anyway. Thrawn was using a breathing apparatus that allowed him to breath his own native atmosphere that is similar to ours".

Berger spoke up, raising an eyebrow, "Thrawn?"  
Kovalena then turned her head over to him, and provided the answer, "Yes. That's not his exact full name. He did provide us with his real name, but it's quite unpronounceable, so he simply said to us that we could call him Thrawn".

Nodding his head, the Commodore asked further, "So what was he doing on TZ911951? Was he shipwrecked?"  
Kovalena shook her head, "No. Exiled".  
"Exiled?"  
"Yes. Apparently, the Chiss exiled Thrawn, who was a military officer with the Chiss, because of an disagreement between them, that lead to the Chiss exiling Thrawn to TZ911951".  
An eyebrow raised, "So they left him to die there?"  
"No. We found that Thrawn was provided by the Chiss, the means to survive on that planet. They gave him some resources and he used those, to salvage some of the shipwrecks on the planet, to construct a habitat, as well as modify technology for his own means, in order to survive down there".

The Commodore "Yes, I heard about this, something about a laser that could cut through starship hulls and energy weapons salvaged from Federation and Klingon weaponry, am I right?"  
"Yes, Commodore".

Berger interjected, with a frown, "I do find it a bit strange that the Chiss exile Thrawn, yet they were kind enough to provide him with means to survive on that planet".

A pause, before the Commodore then went, "Let's go down and see this Thrawn for ourselves".

* * *

Down in one of the interrogation rooms on the Starbase, Commodore Howard Erikson, Lieutenant Commander Manfred Berger and Captain Svetlana Kovalena all watched through the one-way mirror, the mysterious guest calling himself 'Thrawn'.

The Commodore observed him, taking in on his skin's shade of blue and the red eyes that even though were looking straight ahead, were undoubtably scanning every inch of the room.  
Turning away from the one-way mirror, the Commodore began observing the technology that was laid down on a table in front of him, from the starship hull cutter, to one of the remote control energy weapon emplacements, the energy rifle and the helmet/breathing apparatus.

Picking up the helmet/breathing apparatus, taking a look at the helmet in detail, Erikson asked Captain Kovalena, "So, basically, this Thrawn rigged up a distress call, which you picked up, then when you sent the away team, he attacked them?"  
"Well, basically, yes".

As the Commodore hummed to himself, Berger asked, "But why? If he was just stranded on that planet and needed to get off the planet, why did he just attack a Starfleet away team like how you described? If he just wanted to get off planet, why didn't he just approach them and say so? Is his species just so naturally aggressive?"  
"Commander, as I said to the Commodore, Thrawn was just testing our away team and their capabilities".  
An eyebrow rose, and he dubiously asked in response to Captain Kovalena's answer, "Testing?"  
Kovalena nodded, and Berger frowned at this, before turning away and looking down to the floor, which caught the Commodore's eye.

"What's on your mind, Commander?"

Berger, raised his eyes and glanced towards the Commodore, before looking towards the floor again, and saying, "Well, I'm not sure I'm liking the sound of this. An exile stranded on a planet, left with barely enough to survive on the planet, testing and assessing our capabilities. It just seems too much like Ceti Alpha V and Khan to me, Commodore. Plus with this talk of testing us, I'm certain that this indicates a malevolent or benevolent purpose to his actions".

A pause and Commodore Erikson then looked through the one-way mirror, before he said, "Maybe it's time that I speak to this Thrawn, personally".

And after putting the helmet/breathing apparatus down, Commodore Erikson left the room, to head straight for the interrogation room itself.

Entering it, the Commodore then made his way to the table, and sat down in the chair, facing their mysterious guest, who was still sitting down with a calm, collected composure, not showing any signs of discomfort.

Erikson then said, "I am Commodore Howard Erikson, commander of Starbase 77. And your name is?"

Still piercing him with a gaze that just seemed to look right through him, Erikson couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy, at the guest's penetrating stare, so he swallowed, trying to get a grip on himself before he asked again, "Your name?"  
"Captain Kovalena did not tell you it?"  
"No. All she said, that it was quite unpronounceable. Your full name?"  
"I am Mitth'raw'nuruodo".  
"But you are also known, as Thrawn, am I correct?"  
"Yes".  
"How long were you on TZ911951? The planet we found you on".  
"I was deposited on the planet just 2 years ago, this day".  
Erikson was surprised. "That long?  
"And Captain Kovalena said that you were exiled, were you not?"  
"That is correct".  
Commodore Erikson nodded, "I understand that you must have been desperate to get off TZ911951. It's not a great place to live on, especially for those non-native to that planet. After all, you had to depend on a breathing-apparatus for all that time. It would have been unfortunate if that had malfunctioned or broken down in any way".  
"Indeed it would have. But you are incorrect, Commodore. I was not desperate to get off TZ911951. But my people do need my help".

Erikson rose an eyebrow at Thrawn, "Your people need help?"  
"Yes".  
"But from what I understand, from Captain Kovalena's report, it says that you were exiled by your people. Is that incorrect?"  
"No".  
"But if you are exiled by your people, then surely you have no obligation to protect them. The problems facing your people are no longer your troubles since your exile".  
"You misunderstand, Commodore. While it is true that my people have exiled me, I do not seek to not take this exile as a reason to step aside from protecting my people. For a warrior does not run away. And furthermore, I do not need their permission to protect them. My exile was about a disagreement in strategy, more than anything else".  
"Strategy? Over what?"  
"The best way to confront an upcoming threat".

At this, Erikson leaned back slightly, before asking, "How did they differ?"  
"The leaders always opted to attack our enemies when the attack was after, not before. Seeing the devastation that followed afterwards, I disagreed with this strategy. I wanted our people to launch an attack before they hit our worlds. The leaders disagreed, and therefore, when I stopped an enemy attack, I was summoned to answer for my actions and punished with exile".  
"I see..."

The Commodore and Thrawn allowed several moments of pause, until, Thrawn stated, "But while I am in exile, and are now in your midst, I do have a proposition".  
Intrigued, Erikson asked what sort of proposition Thrawn had in mind, and the Chiss answered with, "I could offer my services and skills to Starfleet, skills that could help Starfleet".

Erikson rose an eyebrow and asked in an unbelieving voice, "You, want to join, Starfleet?"  
"That is correct".  
"Why?"  
"I could provide vital knowledge and skills, that could benefit Starfleet, in the near future, and in the immediate future. And also help my people".  
"How so?"  
"As a Starfleet officer, I could be an ideal position to extend a hand of protection towards my people, against all threats".

Shifting a bit awkwardly, Erikson then stated, "Well, you are no doubt knowledgable about quite a few things, but I think that you are unaware of the Prime Directive, the Federation's most important law. It forbids us from interfering in the internal affairs of a species or doing anything to upset their natural development as a species. So, I'm sorry to say, that the Federation will not be able to extend a hand to your people, wherever they are".  
And before Thrawn could speak, Erikson cut in, "but while you are a capable warrior, I'm afraid that Starfleet has no need for warriors. We are an peaceful exploration organisation above all else, we do not exist to wage war".

Thrawn looked off to the side, for quite the first time since the whole interrogation began, and continued doing so, until he looked back at the Commodore and said, "Then, let me put it another way. Whenever first contact with my people and your Federation is achieved, my joining Starfleet will mean that my people will have a voice in Starfleet, and the Federation as a whole".

Erikson rose an eyebrow, "Oh?"  
"Yes. I'd say that relations between my people and the Federation would be much smoother, if there was a Chiss within Starfleet, wouldn't you agree?"

The Commodore looked to the side, before saying, "You've got a point there, and quite a good one".

And with that, Erikson seemed to be satisfied with Thrawn's proposal and was leaning towards accepting Thrawn's idea, before asking, "So you want to join Starfleet?"  
Thrawn nodded, "If this is needed, in order to become a Starfleet officer, then yes".  
"Well, you'll need a letter of recommendation from a Starfleet officer, in order to go to Starfleet Academy, and therefore, join Starfleet. I'm sure that Captain Kovalena will provide you with that recommendation, but there's no guarantee that you'll enter the Academy".  
"That is all I will need. A chance".  
"But what if you are not entered?"  
"Then I would have gambled, and lost. But, we shall see, Commodore".

A pause and, "We will indeed".

* * *

 _Section 31 Headquarters, LOCATION CLASSIFIED_.  
 _2364_.

Lieutenant Commander Krolek, one of the very few Vulcans in Section 31, clutching a datapad in his right arm, made his way towards the offices of his superior officer, through the corridors of the headquarters of Section 31.

Arriving at the very door that he was headed to, which was labelled 'COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, SECTION 31', he announced himself by pressing the button on the side of the door, that chimed, in order to announce his arrival.

The voice of Admiral Carlos Ngwenya came through, "Enter".

The door sliding open, Krolek was soon within the personal office of the Commander-In-Chief, which had little to no decorations of any kind, to indicate the personality of the man in charge of the Federation's most secretive and dangerous, black ops/intelligence organisation.

Approaching the desk, the Lieutenant Commander then stopped and waited as the Admiral behind the desk was still working on his datapad.

3 minutes later, he had finished, and then addressed Krolek,  
"Yes Lieutenant? What have you got for me?"

Blinking once, he said, "The alien individual, the one from a race called the Chiss, picked up by the _USS Strikefast_ , his letter of recommendation to Starfleet Academy's being challenged".

The Admiral extended a hand and Krolek gave him his datapad.  
Taking a read of it, Admiral Ngwenya asked him, "By who exactly?"

And the Vulcan responded with, "By about around 6 Starfleet admirals. Admirals T'Hul and Fitzpatrick, Vice Admirals Chen, Gulyas and Cevert, and Rear Admiral Mellap".

Remembering his meetings with T'Hul, a Vulcan, Mellap, a Tellarite, Gulyas, an Andorian, and the three others Rafael Cevert, Sven Chen and Jean Fitzpatrick, he had some sort of inkling of what they'd have to say about this new alien joining Starfleet.

"What reasons do they give?"  
"Well, T'Hul is said to, erm, well, I quote 'Thrawn's way of thinking is impressive, almost Vulcan-like. But his warrior way of thinking is against the very values that Starfleet embodies'. Fitzpatrick is convinced that having someone who attacks one of our Away Teams is, and I quote 'not someone we want in the Federation'. Gulyas, Chen, and Cevert all reckon that since Starfleet is not a military organisation, but an exploration organisation, he is unsuitable. And Mellap, well, said..."  
Idly remembering his past encounter with the Tellarite, he now knew what the Rear Admiral's reaction to Thrawn was going to be and stopped the Lieutenant Commander, "Alright, I get the picture, Mr Krolek".

The Vulcan officer went silent, and Carlos took a moment to pause, as he read and re-read the datapad in his hand, before he spoke,  
"Mr Krolek".  
"Sir?"  
"Make sure that, this Thrawn, gets entered into Starfleet Academy".

Krolek nodded, knowing that once Admiral Ngwenya had decided something, he was unyielding from something that he had decided to do.  
But before he could get around to that, he did however have some questions.

"Admiral, may I ask, why are we pulling strings to get this Thrawn into the Academy?"

A pause came, a rather long one, and Krolek did wonder if he overstepped his boundaries, until the Admiral asked him, "Did you receive the report on the Federation outpost on Frederich Beta IV?"  
"Within the Neutral Zone? Yes, I heard that it was completely destroyed. By unknown attackers".

The admiral nodded, "Yes. Unknown attackers. All done by the same attackers on Sigma Point 9, Brunel Heights, Eiffel IV and Soyuz VIII. Same pattern, entire settlements of people seemingly ripped up in a precise circle, no trace whatsoever. And here's the thing. The Federation is not the only ones being attacked".  
"Admiral?"  
"Yes, the Romulans also had had several of their outposts in the Neutral Zone destroyed. So whatever these unknown attackers are, they are not content with just attacking us. Everyone is fair game for whoever they are".

Krolek took a moment to pause, before he asked, "So, how does having Thrawn in Starfleet help us, Admiral?"  
The Admiral looked up from the datapad, "Did you read the report given by Captain Kovalena?"  
Krolek nodded, "Yes I did, Admiral".

And hthus, the Admiral explained his position, "Thrawn, was on a planet with shipwrecks of multiple ships from all over the Quadrants. He managed to configure different technologies together and turn them into working tools and weapons. He managed to work out how to survive on TZ911951, a quite hazardous environment. And he managed to outwit and outmanoeuvre, a Starfleet away team".

Krolek understood, and came to the same conclusion "Thus, his skills and prowess will prove most valuable to Starfleet".  
"Indeed they will, Mr Krolek. But here's the most important thing. Read the transcript from his interrogation by Captain Kovalena".

The Vulcan did so, and read through it carefully, looking to see what the Admiral was trying to point out to him, until he found it,  
"The important thing, being, he has knowledge on the Delta Quadrant".

Admiral Ngwenya nodded, "Exactly. All we know, are just the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. We've only just scratched the crust of the Gamma Quadrant with Quadros-1, and we know next to nothing with the Delta Quadrant. So, Thrawn's knowledge of the Delta Quadrant will help us in the long term if he is within the service of Starfleet. Therefore, if he is to share information on the Delta Quadrant, freely, since I do not believe we'll achieve it by an interrogation, we are to enter him into Starfleet's service".

Getting up from his chair, the Admiral paced around to the front of his desk, to Krolek's left, before saying, "They say that Starfleet is not a military organisation, but an exploration organisation. But in fact, Starfleet is both these things. Just as we need explorers, philosophers, scientists and scholars, what is the one thing that Starfleet will need, Krolek?"  
"The logical answer to that question, Admiral, is that Starfleet needs warriors".  
"Exactly, Mr Krolek. Well said. And we have to start with Thrawn. Thrawn may be the warrior that Starfleet needs".

Returning to his seat, the Admiral continued, "We have the Archers, the Pikes, the Kirks, the Spocks, and now, we're having the Picards of Starfleet. It's now time to see if we will have the Thrawns, of Starfleet".

Krolek had one more question,  
"Will we be helping him progress through the Academy, then, Admiral?"

The Admiral shook his head, "No. All we'll be doing, is allowing him to enter through the door. Then, it's up to him, to see if he lives up to the hype that this recommendation brings".

With finality, Admiral Carlos Ngwenya implemented his next orders, "So, let's get Thrawn's letter of recommendation approved. And ensure that Thrawn gets to San Francisco. Dismissed, Mr Krolek".

Krolek nodded, and headed off to carry out the Admiral's orders.

* * *

 **Yep, Thrawn is going to Starfleet Academy. Where, hopefully, he'll show his many varying skills and prowess in a variety of ways.  
**

 **And yes, I included a Wrath of Khan reference in there. Because I just couldn't help but think that my Thrawn encounter was quite a bit like when Chekov and Tyrell discovered the crew of the Botany Bay on Ceti Alpha V. *shivers*  
** **On the other hand, speaking of Khan, I actually think that Ricardo Montalban would have actually made a great Thrawn (either via voice acting or in live action, if they had ever done a live-action or animated adaptation of the Heir to the Empire series). What do you think?**

 **As well as a reference to the Borg making their first appearance, attacking Federation and Romulan outposts in the Neutral Zone, which is prior to the episode "The Neutral Zone". After all, 2364 is the same year as the Next Generation's season 1.**

 **For those interested in Thrawn participating in the Kobayashi Maru, well, I'm quite excited to show you it, yet really nervous. However, it won't be out for quite a while. Thrawn's still got to be getting adjusted to Starfleet Academy after all, and I guess that Starfleet cadets don't just get pushed through the door of the Academy, participate in the test and then go off to a ship. They've still got to do lessons and other activities that get them ready for Starfleet.  
Plus, there is also a significant character I want to introduce, basically the Watson to Thrawn's Sherlock, and develop their relationship between each other, and this is one character I've been really looking forward to introducing.  
**  
 **Don't forget to leave a review whenever you can, and see you next time!**


End file.
